Written Answers Thursday 1 October 2009

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether linseed is imported into Scotland.

Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally. However, the latest available figures show that 770 tonnes of oil cake and meal from linseed was imported into the UK in 2007. It is possible that there is onward transport to Scotland, but this is not recorded centrally. There is no legal requirement to record or provide this information, and to do so would be likely to impose an administrative and financial burden on industry and regulators. Returns to HM Revenue and Customs by importers and exporters do not allow data to be broken down in detail.

Agriculture

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to complete its revision of the Prevention of Pollution from Agricultural Activities Code.

Richard Lochhead: The revision of the Prevention of Environmental Pollution from Agricultural Activity is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.

Animal Welfare

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many licences have been issued under the Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2009.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many licensing applications have been rejected under the Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2009, also expressed as a percentage.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what grounds licensing applications have been rejected under the Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2009.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many licences have been variated, suspended or revoked under the Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2009, broken down by group.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals have been lodged under the Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and how many have been successful in part or in whole.

Richard Lochhead: The issuing of licences under the Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Young Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 is a matter for local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.

Animal Welfare

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many warrants have been issued under regulation 17(3) of the Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2009.

Richard Lochhead: The enforcement of the Licensing of Animal Dealers (Young Cats and Young Dogs) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 is a matter for local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many residential places there are for (a) alcohol and (b) drug rehabilitation, broken down by NHS board area.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. However, information from the National Directory of Drug Services, maintained by the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF), shows that there are currently 451 beds provided by 28 residential services in Scotland. The number of beds does not equate to the number of places available which depends on occupancy rates and length of programme.

  The SDF Directory is available online at http://www.scottishdrugservices.com/sdd/homepage.htm.

Education

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will be in a position to outline its plan for the extension of outdoor education places for secondary schools pupils.

Keith Brown: We are working with the Outdoor Learning Strategic Advisory Group, Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) and others to produce a framework for outdoor learning together with a supporting web resource by spring 2010. The framework will provide advice on outdoor learning in early years settings, primary schools and secondary schools. It will include sections on outdoor learning within the context of Curriculum for Excellence and the role of residential experiences as part of progressive outdoor learning from three to 18. We have allocated £130,000 to LTS in 2009-10 to take this work forward.

Enterprise

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive how many companies or countries have intimated their intention to discontinue doing business with Scotland or Scottish companies following the Cabinet Secretary for Justice’s decision to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds.

Michael Russell: Emails have been sent to the Scotland.org website by two companies intimating their intention to discontinue doing business with Scotland. Both companies are unknown to Scottish Development International and do not appear to have undertaken any business in Scotland to date. There has been no such intimation from any countries.

Equal Opportunities

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken in respect of the recommendations in the report, Valuable Assets - the role and status of classroom assistants , published by the Equal Opportunities Commission in May 2007.

Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is participating fully in the meetings of the National Action Group, chaired by the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission), which was established following the publication of the Valuable Assets report. The bulk of the recommendations cover the terms and conditions of service of support staff and these were remitted to the Scottish Joint Council for consideration. The recommendation relating to equal pay has been referred to a job evaluation technical working group.

Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its progress report of 30 June 2009 to the Public Audit Committee on major capital projects with a value in excess of £50 million, under what funding mechanism each of the projects will be paid for.

John Swinney: This information has been provided in the following tables.

  Projects which are Expected to be Funded Conventionally through Public Procurement

  

 A90 Balmedie to Tipperty Dualling


 Court Unification


 Edinburgh Waverley Station 


 Forth Replacement Crossing 


 Glasgow City Centre Colleges


 Glasgow School of Art


 Highland Main Line


 HM Prison Grampian


 HM Prison Low Moss


 HM Prison Shotts, Phase 1


 M74 Completion


 National Indoor Sports Arena Glasgow


 NHS Grampian Emergency Care Centre, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – New South Glasgow Hospitals


 NHS Lothian Royal Hospital for Sick Children


 Parliament House


 Scottish Crime Campus – Gartcosh


 The State Hospital Carstairs


 Traffic Scotland Intelligent Transport System



  Projects which are Expected to be Funded through the Non-Profit Distributing Model

  

 Borders Railway 


 NHS Tayside - Mental Health Development 


 A90 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route


 M74 Raith Interchange


 M8 Associated Network Improvements


 M8 Baillieston to Newhouse



  Projects which will be Funded through the Private Finance Initiative

  

 M80 Stepps to Haggs 


 NHS Fife – General Hospital and Maternity Services – Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline 


 NHS Forth Valley - Forth Valley Acute Hospital 



  Projects which will be Funded/Part Funded through Network Rail’s Regulatory Asset Base

  

 Airdrie to Bathgate Rail Link


 Paisley Corridor Improvements 1


 Edinburgh to Glasgow Rail Improvement Programme



  Projects where Funding Route will be Determined at Outline Business Case Stage

  

 NHS Ayrshire and Arran – Mental Health 


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary refurbishment 


 NHS Lanarkshire - Monklands General Hospital 


 NHS Lothian – Clinical Neurosciences 


 NHS Lothian - Royal Edinburgh Hospital 



  Note: 1. Following a Parliamentary announcement on 17 September 2009, the branchline element of Glasgow Airport Rail Link/PCR has been cancelled. However, the mainline works on the Paisley corridor are being undertaken by Network Rail and funded through Regulatory Asset Base. This continues on time and budget. The current value is £182 million with full passenger service expected in Q1 2012.

Finance

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason £3.7 million has been transferred from the Scottish National Heritage budget line to Local Government in 2009-10 and 2010-11, as described on page 110 of the Scottish Draft Budget 2010-2011.

Roseanna Cunningham: Prior to 1 April 2009, Scottish Natural Heritage had provided financial support to individual local authority natural heritage projects and activities through their grant scheme.

  As part of the concordat agreed by Scottish Government and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Scottish ministers agreed to transfer to the Local Government finance settlement for 2009-10 and 2010-11, the resources which had previously been paid through these grant arrangements thus giving local authorities increased scope to determine local priorities.

Finance

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason £0.3 million has been transferred from the Animal Health budget line to Local Government in both 2009-10 and 2010-2011, as described on page 110 of the Scottish Draft Budget 2010-2011 .

Richard Lochhead: Due to a misallocation at the time of the Spending Review 2007, the budget for the Rural Affairs and Environment Portfolio was overstated by £325,000 in each of the three spending review years, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 with compensating understatements in the Local Government Portfolio.

  This misallocation was rectified for all three years at the 2008-09 Autumn Budget Revision last October by a transfer from the Animal Health budget. Later in 2008-09, the money was reinstated in the Animal Health budget from savings within the Portfolio, and, subject to parliamentary approval, the Animal Health budget for 2009-10 and 2010-11 will be increased by £325,000 at Autumn Budget Revision this year and next respectively.

Finance

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its justification is for the reduction in the budget of Marine Scotland from £75.5 million in 2009-2010 to £65.3 million in 2010-11, as described on page 116 of the Scottish Draft Budget 2010-2011 .

Richard Lochhead: The budget reduction in 2010-11 is largely attributable to the anticipated completion of the new Fish Veterinary Aquaria for which additional capital provision was made available in 2009-10, and subsequently augmented by an additional £3.6 million of capital provision accelerated from 2010-11.

First Minister

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what journeys have been taken by official car by the First Minister since September 2008.

John Swinney: The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (Bib. Number 49267).

Genetically Modified Organisms

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the proportion of animal feed sold in the United Kingdom being labelled as containing genetically modified organisms.

Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally. There is no legal requirement to record or provide this information, and to do so would be likely to impose an administrative and financial burden on industry and regulators. However, according to the European Feed Manufacturers’ Association, 85% of the EU’s compound feed production is now labelled to indicate that it contains GMOs or GM-derived material.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of animal feed sold in Scotland is labelled as containing genetically modified organisms.

Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally. There is no legal requirement to record or provide this information, and to do so would be likely to impose an administrative and financial burden on industry and regulators. However, according to the European Feed Manufacturers’ Association, 85% of the EU’s compound feed production is now labelled to indicate that it contains GMOs or GM-derived material.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average content is of genetically modified organisms found in animal feed labelled as containing such organisms.

Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the question S3W-27249 on 24 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Higher Education

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many university places it has funded in each of the last three years and how many it will fund in each of the next three years.

Fiona Hyslop: Each year the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) funds a number of places in universities and other higher education institutions (HEIs), expressed as full-time equivalents (FTE).

  The following table shows the number of funded places for undergraduates and taught postgraduates at Scottish HEIs for the last three academic years.

  

 
 Funded Places


 Academic Year
 (FTEs)


 2009-10
 130,799


 2008-09
 130,238


 2007-08
 127,788



  Source: Scottish Funding Council.

  The SFC will announce funded student places for academic year 2010-11 in March 2010.

Infant Mortality

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has commissioned to understand why stillbirth rates in Scotland are among the highest in Europe.

Shona Robison: Countries across Europe apply several different sets of criteria for the registration of stillbirths which makes reliable comparisons difficult. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, in conjunction with Information Services Division, is developing further work from the recently published 30-year Scottish Perinatal and Infant Mortality and Morbidity Report .

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3109.html .

  The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Government Health Directorates has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. CSO responds primarily to requests for funding research proposals initiated by the research community in Scotland. CSO is not currently funding any research on stillbirths but would welcome research proposals, subject to the usual peer and committee review.

Infant Mortality

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what work has been carried out to understand why rates of stillbirth in Scotland have remained unchanged for the last 20 years.

Shona Robison: The recently published Scottish Perinatal and Infant Mortality and Morbidity Report  (SPIMMR), http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3109.html , shows that the reproductive population has changed in the past 30 years. Average maternal age is rising, as are rates of multiple pregnancies. These factors are important associations with stillbirth. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, in conjunction with Information Services Division, is developing further work from the SPIMMR report.

Infant Mortality

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts are being made to prevent more than 300 families every year experiencing the death of a baby.

Shona Robison: Improved teaching of emergency obstetric care for doctors and midwives now takes place throughout Scotland. Work to improve and modernize the classification of stillbirths is underway, and may help to give a better picture of the underlying causes of stillbirth.

Infant Mortality

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what work has been carried out to understand why Scotland’s intrapartum stillbirth rates have remained unchanged for the last 20 years.

Shona Robison: Numbers of intra-partum stillbirths are extremely small and tend to fluctuate. The overall trend in the last 20 years has been slightly downwards and a recent analysis of Scottish data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has confirmed this. An apparent small rise in recent years may be related to classification inconsistencies and work is in hand to increase the accuracy of diagnostic classification. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/302/6/660 .

Infant Mortality

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to ensure that parents do not experience the death of a healthy baby in the days immediately following birth.

Shona Robison: Neonatal deaths have steadily fallen in the past 30 years, largely due to improving neonatal care and despite the same factors associated with stillbirths being prevalent, as well as a gradual rise in preterm deliveries and multiple births, both of which are associated with neonatal mortality. The death of a genuinely healthy baby is very rare and most deaths are associated with prematurity or congenital anomaly.

Infant Mortality

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to understand what is behind the slight but steady increase in the rate of stillbirths in babies who are near the point of delivery.

Shona Robison: The rates of singleton stillbirths at term have fallen overall in the past 20 years, from 2.4/1,000 births in the mid 1980s to 2.0/1,000 births in recent years. Work to improve and modernize the classification of stillbirths is underway and may lead to a better understanding of the reasons behind these fluctuations.

Joint Ministerial Committee

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will report on the outcome of the plenary meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on 16 September 2009.

Michael Russell: The First Minister and I attended the plenary session of the Joint Ministerial Committee on Wednesday 16 September. It was a constructive meeting, providing the opportunity for an open exchange of views.

  We discussed how best the four administrations can work together to tackle the challenges of stimulating and sustaining our economic recovery, and the Prime Minister provided an update on preparations for the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. We emphasised the effect that the economic situation has had on Scotland. With our Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts, we presented the case to the Prime Minister and his colleagues for further public sector capital acceleration, making it clear that the fragile economy recovery could be severely damaged by a sudden drop in capital spending. The First Minister argued that bringing capital spending forward would allow for a better exit strategy from the necessary fiscal stimulus. We also made the case for assistance in increasing bank lending, for tighter regulation of the banking sector and for contingency funding for the swine flu vaccine.

  We also discussed the state of inter-administration relations, including the Calman Commission report, the Memorandum of Understanding and new dispute resolution procedures. We agreed that there should be more detailed discussions at official level on improvements to the memorandum and dispute resolution and to the functioning of the JMC, leading to ministerial agreement at a JMC Domestic in the near future. We also looked forward to the Finance Ministers’ Quadrilateral later this year. We noted that the Secretary of State for Scotland said the UK Government’s response to the Calman report’s recommendations will be published before the end of this year.

  I am placing a copy of the communiqué that was issued immediately following the committee meeting in the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (Bib. number 49312).

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the reported recent comments of the Lord Advocate in relation to life sentences that in some exceptional cases a punishment part of the sentence that exceeds natural life expectancy may be appropriate.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on reported comments of the Lord Advocate that in relation to life sentences there may be a need to review the range of punishment parts available to the courts to better reflect the seriousness of a crime, given the relatively compressed scale from 12 to 30 years that currently exists.

Elish Angiolini: It is a matter for the court to determine the appropriate sentence to impose on a convicted person.

  Section 108 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, provides the Lord Advocate with a right of appeal against sentence on the grounds of undue leniency. A sentence will be unduly lenient if it falls outside the range of sentences which the judge, at first instance, applying his mind to all the relevant factors, could reasonably have considered appropriate.

  The Crown is currently appealing three sentences for murder on the grounds that the disposals were unduly lenient. The appeals were conducted for the Crown by the Lord Advocate who asked the appeal court to consider giving further guidance under section 118 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 on the fixing of punishment parts in murder cases.

  The court was asked to consider providing guidance under Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 on the appropriate starting points for fixing punishment parts and the perceived maximum for such punishment parts. The court was asked to consider giving further guidance on the factors to be taken into account in fixing punishment parts and she asked the court to consider issuing guidance on punishment parts in murder cases involving knives and swords.

  As the appeal court has not yet issued its judgment, it is not appropriate to provide any further comment at this time.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of reported calls from the Lord Advocate for guidance to be given to judges dealing with violent crimes involving knives and swords to reflect statistics that indicate that just under half of the killings in Scotland were committed by individuals using sharply pointed weapons.

Elish Angiolini: It is a matter for the court to determine the appropriate sentence to impose on a convicted person.

  Section 108 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, provides the Lord Advocate with a right of appeal against sentence on the grounds of undue leniency. A sentence will be unduly lenient if it falls outside the range of sentences which the judge, at first instance, applying his mind to all the relevant factors, could reasonably have considered appropriate.

  The Crown is currently appealing three sentences for murder on the grounds that the disposals were unduly lenient. The appeals were presented in court by the Lord Advocate who asked the appeal court to consider giving guidance on the fixing of punishment parts in murder cases.

  The Lord Advocate did not call for guidance to be given to judges dealing with "violent crimes involving knives and swords" during the appeal hearing referred to above. The appeal was concerned with the length of the punishment parts imposed in the three sentences for murder.

  The court was asked to consider providing guidance under Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 on the appropriate starting points for fixing punishment parts and the perceived maximum for such punishment parts. The court was asked to consider giving further guidance on the factors to be taken into account in fixing punishment parts and she asked the court to consider issuing guidance on punishment parts in murder cases involving knives and swords.

  As the appeal court has not yet issued its judgment, it is not appropriate to provide any further comment at this time.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many direct measures have been issued by procurators fiscal for vandalism in each month since February 2009, broken down by local authority area.

Elish Angiolini: The following table shows the number of charges under Section 52(1) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (wilfully or recklessly destroy or damage property), where the initial decision taken by the procurator fiscal was to deal with the offending behaviour by means of a direct measure from March to August 2009.

  The figures include only those direct measures that were affected by the provisions in the Criminal Proceedings etc (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007.

  The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) database does not contain information to identify local authority areas and individual jurisdictions do not always match such areas. As a result, the information has been split by procurator fiscal offices.

  Charges: Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, Section 52(1) - Direct Measures Issued1, 2

  

 Procurator Fiscal Office
 March 2009
 April 2009
 May 2009
 June 2009
 July 2009
 August 2009


 Aberdeen
 12
 11
 9
 11
 10
 10


 Airdrie
 3
 1
 9
 8
 11
 10


 Alloa
 -
 -
 1
 3
 5
 2


 Arbroath
 5
 4
 3
 2
 5
 3


 Ayr
 11
 7
 10
 3
 8
 1


 Banff
 2
 -
 -
 -
 11
 1


 Campbeltown
 1
 -
 1
 1
 -
 2


 Cupar
 8
 30
 5
 1
 2
 2


 Dingwall
 1
 -
 1
 -
 2
 -


 Dornoch
 -
 1
 -
 2
 -
 -


 Dumbarton
 12
 1
 1
 6
 -
 8


 Dumfries
 2
 2
 5
 1
 10
 7


 Dundee
 4
 5
 5
 3
 5
 11


 Dunfermline
 5
 12
 12
 6
 16
 3


 Duns
 1
 -
 2
 2
 -
 -


 Edinburgh
 5
 10
 15
 8
 4
 17


 Elgin
 2
 3
 5
 5
 6
 1


 Falkirk
 6
 4
 7
 19
 12
 5


 Forfar
 3
 3
 2
 -
 8
 -


 Fort William
 -
 1
 3
 -
 -
 -


 Glasgow
 34
 18
 28
 31
 37
 21


 Greenock
 -
 3
 2
 2
 2
 -


 Haddington
 1
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -


 Hamilton
 8
 8
 12
 6
 7
 3


 Inverness
 5
 1
 3
 1
 2
 5


 Jedburgh
 4
 4
 -
 3
 1
 1


 Kilmarnock
 10
 7
 23
 3
 11
 6


 Kirkcaldy
 9
 10
 11
 31
 20
 11


 Kirkcudbright
 -
 2
 1
 1
 3
 2


 Kirkwall
 1
 -
 -
 1
 -
 -


 Lanark
 1
 1
 4
 -
 -
 1


 Livingston
 8
 6
 6
 2
 5
 3


 Lochmaddy
 1
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -


 Oban
 1
 1
 3
 1
 1
 -


 Paisley
 7
 4
 12
 1
 4
 6


 Peebles
 -
 1
 -
 2
 1
 1


 Perth
 1
 3
 3
 1
 11
 2


 Peterhead
 3
 -
 1
 4
 9
 1


 Rothesay
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -


 Selkirk
 1
 3
 3
 3
 4
 3


 Stirling
 2
 4
 1
 1
 1
 -


 Stonehaven
 1
 -
 4
 3
 -
 4


 Stornoway
 5
 -
 -
 1
 -
 1


 Stranraer
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Tain
 1
 2
 -
 1
 -
 3


 Wick
 -
 1
 8
 4
 6
 2


 Grand Total
 188
 174
 221
 184
 243
 159



  Notes:

  1. The information in this table has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s case management database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. If a procurator fiscal amends a charge submitted by a reporting agency, the database will record details only of the amended charge.

  2. The database is charge-based. The figures quoted therefore relate to the number of charges rather than the number of individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.

Livestock

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of imported animal feed used in Scotland is soya.

Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally. Returns to HM Revenue and Customs by importers and exporters do not allow data to be broken down in detail. There is no legal requirement to record or provide this information, and to do so would be likely to impose an administrative and financial burden on industry and regulators.

Livestock

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total tonnage is of genetically modified soya used in feed fed to farm animals.

Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally. There is no legal requirement to record or provide this information, and to do so would be likely to impose an administrative and financial burden on industry and regulators.

Livestock

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of farm animals is fed entirely on grass.

Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally. There is no legal requirement to record or provide this information. However, it is unlikely that any farm animals are fed exclusively on grass.

Livestock

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of total feed fed to farm animals is grass.

Roseanna Cunningham: This information is not held centrally. It would be difficult to do so in a meaningful way across species and varying systems of livestock management.

Livestock

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will permit producers to carry out, record and report within-business moves of sheep on a batch basis following the introduction of EU Regulation 21/2004 on the identification of sheep and goats.

Richard Lochhead: EU Regulation 21/2004 requires the individual identification and recording of all sheep and goats born after 1 January 2010. Derogations exist for those intended for slaughter within 12 months that can be identified and recorded on a batch level.

  The Scottish Government has recently launched a public consultation on this Regulation and continues to work with industry to identify the best options available for implementation. Whilst we will look to be as flexible as possible, any procedures will have to remain within the constraints of the EU Regulations.

Livestock

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will commit to the following individual or group of cross-compliance requirements during farm inspections following the introduction of EU Regulation 21/2004 on the identification of sheep and goats: (a) a sample number of sheep are checked for identification, (b) a sample number of sheep are checked individually to verify that their identification matches the information recorded in the database and (c) no reconciliation of the database flock record is required.

Richard Lochhead: Commission regulation 1505/2006 of 11 October 2006 implementing EU Regulation 21/2004 requires a minimum level of checks to be carried out in relation to the identification and registration of sheep and goats.

  The Scottish Government currently inspects a sample of individual sheep to ensure compliance with tagging requirements and also inspect all sheep on a keepers holding by completing a head count to validate the keepers records and accuracy of movements being reported to the existing database on a batch move basis.

  The Scottish Government will review these inspection procedures after considering the responses to the public consultation document on Regulation 21/2004 currently open until 2 November 2009.

  Whether reconciliation of the database flock record is required and verification that their identification matches the information recorded in the database will be dependent on the findings of the public consultation into Regulation 21/2004 currently open until the 2 November 2009.

Livestock

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-26578 by Richard Lochhead on 18 September 2009, whether it will ask the Scottish Agriculture College to provide information on how many post-mortem examinations were carried out at the veterinary laboratory in Thurso in each year since 2000 and what the equivalent numbers were for each of the other veterinary laboratories in Scotland over the same period.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is content to ask the Scottish Agriculture College to provide this information, and has indeed already done so. The information shall be shared with you when it is available.

Livestock

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24870 by Richard Lochhead on 9 July 2009, what progress is being made by the inquiry into the Single Farm Payment in relation to continuing concerns of deer farmers who do not receive the single farm payment and what discussions those conducting the inquiry have had, or plan to have, with such farmers.

Richard Lochhead: The inquiry team met for the first time on 17 September 2009 and as the first stage in its programme of work has issued a call for written evidence from all interested organisations and individuals including deer farmers.

  The inquiry will also draw upon relevant statistics, reports, international experiences and research, including the forthcoming findings of the Rural Land Use Study before publishing an interim report in December 2009.

  Following publication of the Interim Report there will be a further opportunity for interested parties to present their views on that report and the key issues it identifies to the inquiry team through a public consultation and a series of meetings that will take place early next year.

  The inquiry’s final report is due in April 2010.

Medication

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with NHS boards to support them in determining funding requests for off-label treatments.

Shona Robison: No discussions have been held with the NHS boards to support them in determining funding for off-label treatments.

  UK medicines legislation allows the use of licensed medicinal products off-label – that is outside the terms of the marketing authorisation. A decision to recommend the use of a medicine off-label depends on the clinical judgement of the prescriber concerned. The funding of these treatments is a matter for the NHS boards.

Medication

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for which specific conditions off-label medicines are most commonly used in the NHS and what assessment it has made of the number of treatments that are frequently used off-label.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. The prescription data collected centrally relate to prescribed items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors. These data are not patient-specific and do not identify if the item is prescribed off-label, that is outside the terms of the marketing authorisation.

Mental Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds in psychiatric units are dedicated to (a) children and (b) adolescents with learning difficulties.

Shona Robison: There are no specific beds in psychiatric units dedicated to children and adolescents with learning difficulties. Children with learning difficulties who are assessed as requiring inpatient accommodation in a psychiatric unit will be treated in one of the nine beds for children provided on a national basis at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill). For young people requiring inpatient care, there are currently 24 beds available in the west of Scotland, 12 beds in the east of Scotland and six beds in the north of Scotland, with ongoing consideration to increase this to 12 beds. The £2 million that we are making available on a recurring basis to accelerate the development of specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) focuses on enhancing intensive community services to support these inpatient facilities.

Mental Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds for forensic patients are dedicated to (a) children and (b) adolescents with learning difficulties.

Shona Robison: The number of children and adolescents requiring care and treatment in a secure forensic psychiatric unit in Scotland is very small, and even within this small group of patients the needs are very different, for example, some may have a learning disability, and it would not be appropriate to simply treat all child and adolescent forensic patients together given their differing needs. Scotland is part of the UK-wide arrangements whereby NHS National Services Scotland commissions a secure forensic mental health service for young people, resident in Scotland, from the Department of Health in England.

  Improving mental health and wellbeing for children and young people is a priority for the Scottish Government. As part of that priority, the Scottish Government is working with NHS boards and other partners to deliver specific objectives and commitments set for children and young people’s mental health. There has been progress in attention to training and workforce planning, better early intervention, supported transitions, improved primary care and improved planning and delivery of specialist care, including age-appropriate inpatient care.

Mental Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been put in place to meet the staffing needs of the new west of Scotland adolescent psychiatry inpatient unit.

Shona Robison: This is a matter for West of Scotland NHS boards (Ayrshire and Arran, Dumfries and Galloway, Forth Valley, Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Lanarkshire) who are jointly responsible for delivering a service for patients in their areas.

  However, we are working closely with all NHS boards to increase the specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) workforce to deliver a service which meets all our expectations and takes account of the changing needs and increasing demand for role flexibility to support appropriate care models The additional £6.5 million that we are making available over the next three years to NHS boards will significantly increase the number of psychologists working in specialist CAMHS.

  We are also making £2 million available on a recurring basis to accelerate the development of specialist CAMHS services, including access to inpatient beds and intensive community services.

Ministerial Meetings

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings the Minister for Schools and Skills has held with UK Government ministers since his appointment and what issues were discussed.

Keith Brown: I have attended the following meetings since my appointment:

  WorldSkills Ministerial Executive Group on 21 April 2009, to discuss matters relating to WorldSkills at Calgary. Present - Lord Young of Norwood Green, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Skills and Apprentices and officials from Northern Ireland and Wales.

  WorldSkills Ministerial Executive Group on 9 July 2009, to discuss matters relating to WorldSkills at Calgary. Present – Kevin Brennan, Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs; John Griffiths AM, Minister for Skills, Welsh Assembly Government and Sir Reg Empey MLA, Minister for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland.

  The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) Ministerial Performance Review Group on the 9 July 2009. Present – Kevin Brennan, Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs; Jim Knight, Department for Work and Pensions; Ian Wright, Department for Children, Schools and Families; Ian Pearson, Her Majesty’s Treasury; Pat McFadden, Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs; John Griffiths AM, Minister for Skills, Welsh Assembly Government and Sir Reg Empey, MLA, Minister for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland. The group discussed matters relating to the performance of the UKCES.

  The Joint Ministerial Committee (Domestic) on the 13 May 2009. The committee discussed matters relating to migration. Present - Paul Murphy MP, Secretary of State for Wales; Phil Woolas MP, Minister of State for Borders and Immigration; Paul Goggins MP, Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office; Wayne David MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Wales Office; Anne McKechin MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Scotland Office; Peter Robinson MP MLA, First Minister, Northern Ireland; Gerry Kelly MLA, Junior Minister, Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, Northern Ireland; Rhodri Morgan AM, First Minister, Welsh Assembly Government; Wyn Jones AM, Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport, Welsh Assembly Government; Michael Russell MSP, Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution.

Procurement

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that businesses in publicly funded subcontract chains receive payment within a maximum of 30 days.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has revised its standard terms and conditions of contract to require that valid invoices are paid within 30 days of receipt throughout the sub-contract chain.

Procurement

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its forthcoming guidance note on procurement will ensure that community care service users whose service is being retendered will be able to apply for and receive a direct payment, subject to an ability to consent.

Shona Robison: The forthcoming guidance on social care procurement will take account of the duty on local authorities to offer eligible individuals in receipt of a social work service a direct payment.

Public Sector Staff

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff in the Scottish Executive and its sponsored agencies applied for early retirement in 2008-09 and what the estimated cost is of such early retirements.

John Swinney: The number of staff (age 50 and above) who applied for early retirement for personal reasons or through the early retirement scheme in 2008-09 within Scottish Government Main (which covers the core Directorates, some Agencies and Associated Departments) and Senior Civil Servants was 127. However, from the 127 applications for early retirement received in 2008-09, 54 applications were successful at a cost of £4,131,567.

Rural Development

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total amount of financial support to date has been to successful applicants under the Rural Priorities scheme, broken down by total area farmed by the individual or business of (a) under 100, (b) 100 to 500, (c) 500 to 1000, (d) 1,000 to 10,000 and (e) greater than 10,000 hectares.

Richard Lochhead: Rural Priorities is a multi-faceted scheme which delivers opportunities for funding for a wide range of rural businesses and groups who can demonstrate that they meet the relevant priorities identified for their region. It is important to note that this is not limited to farming enterprises.

  The area of land farmed by any particular business is not a criterion by which applications are assessed. As such, a breakdown of Rural Priorities application information by area farmed is not available.

Rural Development

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is of financial assistance towards the costs of preparation of outcome plans by agents, or agents and specialists, given to applicants for support under the Rural Priorities scheme, expressed as a percentage of the total amount of financial support committed under the scheme.

Richard Lochhead: The total expenditure on outcome plan claims by agents under Rural Priorities, to 22 September 2009, is as follows.

  

 Outcome plan prepared by agent:
£46,000


 Outcome plan prepared by agent, with specialist input:
£336,000


 Total
£382,000



  The total paid out to date under Rural Priorities, for both outcome plan and capital claims, is around £6.9 million. The percentage of this which is for agents and agent/specialist outcome plans is 5.5%.

  Please note that the total payment amount does not include any agri-environment annual recurrent payments for 2009, which were claimed on the single application form in May this year, and which will be made early in the new year. Once annual recurrent payments are made, the proportion of expenditure on outcome plan claims will reduce significantly.

  Total funding approved under Rural Priorities is around £154 million, spread over the life of the programme.

Schools

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will put the funding in place for new Lasswade and Newbattle high school buildings.

Keith Brown: Investment plans and priorities and funding for the replacement of individual schools are matters for Midlothian Council. The Scottish Government has just offered the council additional funding of two-thirds of the cost of replacing Lasswade High School, in the first announcement of schools to benefit from the new £1.25 billion school building programme.

Scottish Outdoor Access Code

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the definition of lightweight camping is as referred to in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

Roseanna Cunningham: Page 115 of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code provides guidance on the exercise of access rights in relation to wild camping as follows:

  "Responsible Behaviour by the Public

  Access rights extend to wild camping. This type of camping is lightweight, done in small numbers and only for two or three nights in any one place. You can camp in this way wherever access rights apply but help to avoid causing problems for local people and land managers by not camping in enclosed fields of crops or farm animals and by keeping well away from buildings, roads or historic structures. Take extra care to avoid disturbing deer stalking or grouse shooting. If you wish to camp close to a house or building, seek the owner’s permission. Leave no trace by:

  taking away all your litter;

  removing all traces of your tent pitch and of any open fire (follow the guidance for lighting fires);

  not causing any pollution.

  Responsible Behaviour by Land Managers

  If you are experiencing large numbers of roadside campers or have well-used wild camping areas, you could work with your local authority and with recreational bodies to assist the management of such camping."

  The code is available at www.outdooraccess-scotland.com.

Sport

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will meet the SNP manifesto commitment to provide free swimming for school children.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government are midway through a four year term and are working through our manifesto commitments having already delivered a significant number of measures to make Scotland wealthier, safer, healthier, smarter and greener.

  We will continue to work with Scottish Swimming, sportscotland and others to ensure we offer more and better opportunities for our young people to enjoy and benefit from swimming. Our investment of over £1.2 million in Scottish Swimming earlier this year, the biggest ever single investment in a Scottish governing body of sport, shows our commitment to swimming in Scotland.

Sport

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s listed events review.

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has written in support of the BBC Trust submission to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport listed events review, which recommended the inclusion of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and Scotland’s international football matches as part the BBC’s free-to-air events.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government responded on 14 July 2009 to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s consultation on listed, or "free-to-air" events. I have also met twice with Dougie Donnelly, the Scottish member of the review team.

  The Scottish Government’s response expressed concern that nationally significant sporting events are not always shown on terrestrial television. It therefore recommended adding the men’s national football teams qualifying matches (home and away) for the European Championship and World Cup to the list of events that must be shown live to a free-to-air television.

  The Scottish Government also recommended that governments of the devolved administrations should be granted powers to add or remove events for their nation. This would allow Scotland to maintain a list more specifically relevant to Scottish citizens. The Scottish Government recognises the crucial role that broadcasting will play in making the Games accessible to people in Scotland and the rest of the Commonwealth.

Student Finance

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that students up to the age of 60 in England and Northern Ireland are eligible for student loans.

Fiona Hyslop: Yes, this government is aware that students up to the age of 60 in England and Northern Ireland are eligible for student loans. The repayment in full of student loans is a key factor in ensuring that the current system of student support remains affordable. It is significantly less likely that a loan provided to a student aged 55 or over will be repaid in full due to a combination of factors, including the student’s age and potential levels of income.

Student Finance

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that its policy of limiting eligibility for student loans to students under the age of 55 could be considered to be age discrimination.

Fiona Hyslop: No. The government does not consider that the policy of limiting eligibility for students loans to students under the age of 55 constitutes unlawful age discrimination. This is because the relevant legislation, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 do not apply to state funded student support.

Student Finance

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish students have not yet received their student loan.

Fiona Hyslop: Applications for support by Scottish students are being dealt with within published target times by both the Student Awards Agency for Scotland and the Student Loans Company Limited. Scottish students are not experiencing delays that have been reported elsewhere in the UK. It is not possible to say how many students have not yet received their loan since the situation changes by the hour. There are several reasons why students may not as yet have received a loan payment. These include cases in which students may have applied less than 28 days before the start of their courses, have completed their applications incorrectly or have not supplied necessary supporting information.

Student Finance

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are delays at either the Student Awards Agency for Scotland or the Student Loans Company in processing Scottish students’ student loans.

Fiona Hyslop: Systems for assessing and paying student support in Scotland are different to those in the rest of the UK. The Student Awards Agency for Scotland is delivering its normal levels of service and is processing applications within its published targets. Where delays occur, these are usually because applications have not been completed correctly or necessary supporting information supplied. The Student Loans Company has also been able to maintain its normal levels of service to Scottish students, with the exception of 39 cases in which an average payment delay of three days occurred due to a technical file transfer issue.

Suicide

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicides have been recorded over the last five years, broken down by Scottish Parliament constituency and expressed as a percentage of the Scottish average.

Shona Robison: The figures requested are as follows. These statistics have been produced on the same basis as the published information on probable suicides available on the website of the General Register Office for Scotland. Details can be accessed via this link:

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/deaths/suicides/index.html.

  Deaths caused by intentional self-harm and events of undetermined intent, by Scottish parliamentary constituency, (ICD-10 codes X60-X84, Y10-Y34, Y87.0, Y87.2):

  

 Scottish Parliamentary Constituency
Number of Deaths 2004-08
Percentage of Scottish Total 2004-08


 Aberdeen Central
 73
 1.8%


 Aberdeen North
 33
 0.8%


 Aberdeen South
 55
 1.4%


 Airdrie and Shotts
 70
 1.7%


 Angus
 52
 1.3%


 Argyll and Bute
 51
 1.3%


 Ayr
 49
 1.2%


 Banff and Buchan
 63
 1.6%


 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
 46
 1.1%


 Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
 44
 1.1%


 Central Fife
 53
 1.3%


 Clydebank and Milngavie
 63
 1.6%


 Clydesdale
 62
 1.5%


 Coatbridge and Chryston
 51
 1.3%


 Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
 39
 1.0%


 Cunninghame North
 45
 1.1%


 Cunninghame South
 66
 1.6%


 Dumbarton
 80
 2.0%


 Dumfries
 70
 1.7%


 Dundee East
 67
 1.7%


 Dundee West
 64
 1.6%


 Dunfermline East
 54
 1.3%


 Dunfermline West
 42
 1.0%


 East Kilbride
 53
 1.3%


 East Lothian
 42
 1.0%


 Eastwood
 50
 1.2%


 Edinburgh Central
 69
 1.7%


 Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
 57
 1.4%


 Edinburgh North and Leith
 70
 1.7%


 Edinburgh Pentlands
 49
 1.2%


 Edinburgh South
 43
 1.1%


 Edinburgh West
 66
 1.6%


 Falkirk East
 40
 1.0%


 Falkirk West
 43
 1.1%


 Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
 56
 1.4%


 Glasgow Anniesland
 72
 1.8%


 Glasgow Baillieston
 59
 1.5%


 Glasgow Cathcart
 53
 1.3%


 Glasgow Govan
 73
 1.8%


 Glasgow Kelvin
 71
 1.8%


 Glasgow Maryhill
 85
 2.1%


 Glasgow Pollock
 49
 1.2%


 Glasgow Rutherglen
 49
 1.2%


 Glasgow Shettleston
 95
 2.3%


 Glasgow Springburn
 78
 1.9%


 Gordon
 60
 1.5%


 Greenock and Inverclyde
 50
 1.2%


 Hamilton North and Bellshill
 66
 1.6%


 Hamilton South
 46
 1.1%


 Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
 93
 2.3%


 Kilmarnock and Loudoun
 54
 1.3%


 Kirkcaldy
 48
 1.2%


 Linlithgow
 62
 1.5%


 Livingston
 46
 1.1%


 Midlothian
 48
 1.2%


 Moray
 56
 1.4%


 Motherwell and Wishaw
 58
 1.4%


 North East Fife
 42
 1.0%


 North Tayside
 69
 1.7%


 Ochil
 53
 1.3%


 Orkney
 14
 0.3%


 Paisley North
 65
 1.6%


 Paisley South
 62
 1.5%


 Perth
 66
 1.6%


 Ross, Skye and Inverness West
 75
 1.9%


 Roxburgh and Berwickshire
 44
 1.1%


 Shetland
 22
 0.5%


 Stirling
 42
 1.0%


 Strathkelvin and Bearsden
 42
 1.0%


 Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale
 43
 1.1%


 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
 38
 0.9%


 West Renfrewshire
 37
 0.9%


 Western Isles
 29
 0.7%


 Scotland Total
 4,044
 100.0%

Waste Management

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to develop Scotland’s waste infrastructure to ensure that it is sufficient to meet the demands of current and future waste policy.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has allocated £42 million from the Zero Waste Fund direct to local authorities for the period 2008-10 to deliver waste management infrastructure. The Scottish Government intends to allocate further funding for 2009-10 and 2010-11. This money is in addition to record levels of funding provided to local government over the period 2008-10.

  The Scottish Government, through capital grant schemes administered by the Waste and Resources Action Programme, is supporting development of infrastructure to treat organic waste and reprocess plastics.

  The Scottish Government is currently consulting on the zero waste plan. The final plan will identify how to facilitate future development of waste infrastructure in Scotland.

Waste Management

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the report The Food We Waste in Scotland , by WRAP Scotland, what steps being taken to increase the separate collection of organic waste from domestic premises.

Richard Lochhead: It is the responsibility of each local authority to determine what collection systems are put in place. Food waste trials in Scotland have been supported by the Scottish Government in seven local authority areas. The Scottish Government is supporting councils who wish to introduce food waste collections with assistance from Remade Scotland, Waste Aware Scotland and Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Waste Management

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities operate kerbside collection of separated organic waste and how many of these collections accept food waste.

Richard Lochhead: Twenty-nine of the 32 local authorities offer an organic waste collection from the kerbside. In addition, 13 local authorities collect food waste either with other organic waste or collected separately.

Waste Management

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities provide facilities for the disposal of organic waste and how many of these facilities accept food waste.

Richard Lochhead: All local authorities provide facilities at household waste recycling centres for householders to deposit organic garden waste, however some households may not be conveniently placed to utilise these facilities. At the present time no provision is made for the separate collection of food waste at these facilities.

Waste Management

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most environmentally sustainable way is for households to dispose of food waste.

Richard Lochhead: Preventing food waste, where possible, is the most environmentally sustainable approach. Prevention saves householders money and helps to reduce greenhouse gases associated with the production, transportation, storage and disposal of food.

  Some food waste, however, is unavoidable, for example tea bags, fruit skins and vegetable peelings. Where possible, householders should compost these types of material at home. For households that cannot compost at home, or for the types of waste that it is recommended not to compost at home, such as chicken carcasses and cooked food waste, householders should utilise the food waste collection services where they are provided by local authorities.

Waste Management

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates to be the (a) volume and (b) proportion of food from (i) supermarkets, (ii) households, (iii) restaurants and other eating establishments and (iv) other sources that became food waste in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Waste Management

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason £0.7 million has been transferred from the Zero Waste budget line to Food Industry Support in 2010-2011, as described on page 111 of the Scottish Draft Budget 2010-2011 .

Richard Lochhead: The £0.7 million to Food Industry Support is to create and safeguard jobs in Scotland’s Food and Drink industry.

Waste Management

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £25.3 million and £26.3 million transferred from the Zero Waste budget line to Local Government, as described on page 111 of the Scottish Draft Budget 2010-2011 , will be spent on waste reduction and, if so, how this will be ensured.

Richard Lochhead: Each individual local authority has the responsibility to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local and national needs and priorities.

  Delivering Zero Waste is a national and local priority. The Zero Waste Plan for Scotland, which is currently out to consultation, sets out the Scottish Government vision, recognises the waste hierarchy and gives prominence to waste prevention, reduction and re-use over other forms of treatment including recycling and recovery.